Dear Brother Jesse , with love and respect to you , who do you think that Paul is talking about in Hebrews chapter 5 ? Aaron ? Melchizedek ? Or Jesus ? Love in Christ .
Dear Brother Jesse , I'm a bit confused by your last sentence in this post : I do not believe.....is that correct or are the computer gremlins at work ? I ask this because the thing that you said that you don't believe is exactly what I do believe . It's true that Jesus had no biological human father but he did have a human mother . The first Adam had neither , he was born totally by the power of God without any humanity in him and yet he was capable of and did indeed sin .
What is Jesus's victory if not the victory over sin ? Sin which is the powder of death , or rather sin which causes physical death ? The wages of sin is death as we know . Christ did not earn those wages . If it was impossible for him to do so then where is his victory ? He has won nothing he has accomplished nothing he didn't submit he didn't have any choice in the matter he didn't have to make any effort .
In the garden if Gethsemane his humanity is very evident . He is afraid . Afraid of the physical mental emotional and spiritual pain and humiliation . He asks that the cup might pass from him , that the crucifixion might not have to happen . Isn't there another way Father ? God says no , there is no other way , I want you to do it this way . Jesus submits but right up to the last second he is tempted . Come down and we will believe you ! He could have done that ! His human nature that was in agony , would want to do that . He resisted temptation because he knew that it was God's will and plan for him to do it this way , he is he lamb slain from the foundation of the world ! He had to do it willingly , he had to submit which means he had the choice not to submit . He learned obedience , those two words are so important , learned obedience . Dear Brother , your last sentence that explains what you don't believe , that's exactly what I do believe . With respect , we shall have to differ .
Jesus knew beforehand who are they as he knew Judas what he would do. But as the Word become flesh his Spirit to give a chance to redeem himself. "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?/He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him."( John 6:70-71). We have an example what good it did to those disciples stayed the course learning from the Master. "His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb." ( John 16:29)
" Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."( 1 John 3:2).
So the Spirit present parables as in the case of Blasphemy( of which we discussed in an earlier post from the Father Son relationship of God- Matt.12:31-32) to indicate the kingdom of the Son and kingdom of God. We shall see the Son as he is since we have the same glorious body and our soul establishes His mind working through the body. He is the Head and we belong to one body, the church. What made it all possible? Gospel of God is tagged as 12. When he presented the gospel it was gospel of Christ but the tag remains same. Even where Judas lost his place among the twelve it was necessary to keep the number as same.
In the upper room disciples gathered as commanded, "the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,"(Ac.1:15)
"And the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."(Ac.1:26)
The Gospel is everlasting gospel is the same so tag 12 shall be basis by which the holy city is measured (12x1000). The single measure man-angel makes Paul, Peter and Matthias of whose ministry we know nothing are interchangeable. We have a clue. "And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating"(Ex.16:18)
"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable./And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?"
Parables are meant to separate those who are born of the flesh from those who are born of the Spirit. Jesus asking his disciples as mentioned in the key text reveals his disciples were of the same league as that of Nicodemus. But one thing which was crucial for being born of the the Spirit was in favour of St Peter. When many disciples turned away from him Simon Peter believed. " Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life./And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."( John 6:88-69). This was before the outpouring of the Spirit and his lifeline was alone the word of God as the voice and the sign before him. This is what the Spirit means of having the seed in itself.' Israel made light of it so Jesus castigated them, as blind guides. "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up./Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (Matt.15:13-14) Here we have the Spirit giving a reason why Jesus spoke to them in parables. "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,/This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me./But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Their heart was far from God. Tell this to the pastors who preach 'prosperity'. In our very midst we have such specimens, Pharisaical in garb of TV preachers. Heaven help us!
Jesus knew beforehand who are they as he knew Judas what he would do. But as the Word become flesh his Spirit to give a chance to redeem himself. "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?/He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him."
How does one quantify what is spiritually understood? The Spirit renders such unquantifiable with numbers that are called Command numbers. The Holy City of God is a cube, "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."(Re.21:16). The Spirit sets a tag 100 for the generation of Jesus and 1000 is the tag for end times.(End times in the day of Salvation is the beginning of the day of Regeneration so everlasting life promised to believers is continuation of now but in glory0John 3:16). Coming back to 144,000 we shall break it up as thus: 12x12x1000. This has nothing to do with Israel. In Re.7 the left out church redeems by stepping in the place of Israelites, a quality of Jesus Christ is stated here, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Seth for this reason doubles for the Son. Ze.3:15 refers to the intercessory role of Jesus Christ. However Joshua is a Hebrew variant for Jesus. This usage of the variant is significant. It is used to represent the believers tagged with 144,000 who barely escaped the great tribulation "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?/Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel." The fire refers to the great tribulation.
The two disciples going to Emmaus were like Nicodemus and also spiritually blind "And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them./But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." ( Luke 21:15-16)
If such is the case should we be surprised if the imposter churches whatever names one may call them are turning out from their assembly line such half-baked witnesses for Christ. They deny Christ's deity to mean something less and it shows up in their flock.
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?/ And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
"How can these things be?" Problem of Nicodemus was that he grew up in physical terms, His understanding was licked into a shape to get through life among his peers, without jeopardising his position. He looked up unto the hills 'whence cometh my help' and singing the song of the degrees did not make him see the mountain of God anymore than plain speech of Jesus made sense to him. For instance if being born of the Spirit I were to say, for example the statement that was made in the discussion forum "The 144,000 are male, virgin Jews, 112,000 from each tribe of Israel. Revelations 7:3-4 and 14:3-5" is wrong, no amount of debate is going to settle the matter. Where is faith called for reason must be inadequate. Faith is born of hearing, and as Paul says,"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Without it no amount of my saying otherwise shall help the other person. One is born of the Spirit so one is not only negotiating the present world but also 'the world to come.' Jesus Christ has both day of salvation and day of Regeneration, the Alpha and Omega aspect. If we gather with Christ here and now, we shall be gathering with him in his glory. So the Spirit uses tags where 12 signifies the gospel of God. St Paul's prayer, "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;/ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."(Ep.3:18-19).How does one quantify what is spiritually understood? The Spirit renders such unquantifiable with numbers that are called Command numbers. The Holy City of God is a cube, "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth:
I posted in another site: post #82-Oseas3, Sep 5, 2019
Which of these TWO Beasts is the main Beast?
1- John saw a MAN Beast rise up out of the sea(Gentile Beast), having 7 heads and 10 horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his (7) heads the name of blasphemy. WHO IS THIS BEAST FROM THE SEA? Is he the main Beast for you?
2- John saw another MAN Beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb(a false lamb, of course), and he spake as a Dragon. WHO IS THIS BEAST FROM THE EARTH? Is he the main Beast for you?
Which of these TWO Beasts cited above is the main Beast for you?
We are interpreting the book of Revelation- chapter 13
1 - Which are the 7 heads of the devilish Beast from the sea, and what they represent?
2 - Who are the 10 horns having 10 crowns which united themselves to the Beast of the sea?
3 - What is the name of blasphemy upon the 7 heads of the Beast of the sea?
4 - Who is the another Beast like a LAMB that was seen by John, who came up out of the earth?-a dry land-
5 - Why does this another Beast have 2 horns, what they represent?
The Word of God says: The FIRST religious and blasphemer MAN Beast, the Beast from the sea- Revelation 13:1-10, will rule the Antichrist's Empire for 42 month. For now, the FIRST religious and blasphemer MAN Beast has not Power to establish the Antichrist's Empire ALONE, therefore, this MAN will sit as a ruler of the Antichrist's Empire only and only after the manifestation of the Beast of the earth- Revelation 13:11-18,and both will make a deal to establish an Empire,a religious Antichrist's Empire.
Then there will be TWO Beasts operating/working on the Earth.
After the end of the 42-month rule of the first Beast,who will assume the throne of the Empire of Antichrist for another 1,290 days is the Bleak Abomination through the Beast that has risen from the earth,the Beast as a lamb,but this man speaks as a Dragon.In fact,this Beast as a lamb is a false lamb, a false messiah, an IMPOSTOR.
Here's what the Jews are commenting about manifestation of their messiah-moshiach: Is it true what they say? No.
Moshiach 101-The Identity of Moshiach
Who Is Moshiach(the Jewish Messiah)?
The Messianic Redemption will be ushered in by a person,a human leader, a descendant of Kings David and Solomon,who will reinstate the Davidic royal dynasty.According to tradition,Moshiach will be wiser than Solomon,and a PROPHET around the level of Moses.
Ever since the destruction of the Holy Temple,in every generation there is an individual,a scion of the House of David, who has the potential to be the Moshiach. If at any moment the Jews are worthy of redemption,this person would be directed from Above to assume the role of the redeemer.
In every generation there is a scion of the House of David who has the potential to be the Moshiach During the Messianic Era, the Moshiach will serve a dual role. He will be a MONARCH, ruling OVER ALL of HUMANITY with kindness and justice, and upholding the Law of the Torah-613 commandments for the Jews, and 7 for the non-Jews.He will also be the ultimate teacher, the conduit for the deepest and most profound dimensions of the Torah which will then be revealed by Gd.
How are we to identify the Moshiach?
Moshiach is not identified by his ability to perform earth-shattering miracles.In fact,he isn't required to perform any miracles at all(although the performance of miracles doesn't disqualify him either)
The following are the criteria for identifying the Moshiach,as written by Maimonides:
If we see a Jewish leader who(a)toils in the study of Torah and is meticulous about the observance of the mitzvot,(b)influences the Jews to follow the ways of the Torah and(c)wages the "battles of Gd"-such a person is the"presumptive Moshiach."
If the person succeeded in all these endeavors,and then rebuilds the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and facilitates the ingathering of the Jews to the Land of Israel-then we are certain that he is the Moshiach.
Once again, I found humor in your post, at least with how your spell checker keeps sabotaging you. Darn spell checkers! Being prior military, your spell checker put in a word (Commandant) that gave me a visual and reminder of being in military parade formation and having "10 Commandants" in charge of the formation. There's always only one which is enough because that individual is usually an intimidating high-ranking figure. I can't imagine 10 of them! Just a visual. I know what you meant!
I do have to ask you though; I have seen you mention a book of Revelations on several occasions. Does your Bible have a book of Revelations? Or is it just Revelation? I understand it to be titled Revelation, singular, being the Revelation of Jesus Christ. I hope I am not being too critical. I don't mean to be. If you think I am, please tell me so!
May the Lord continue to bless you and may your hunger for His word never be quenched!
I was not ignoring you. I do agree that Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and that He was (and is) a Lamb without spot, or spotless. Jesus was tempted by Satan, but He did not give in to the temptation because it is impossible for Him to give in to Satan's temptations and commit sin. At no time did Jesus ever have a sin nature. Since Jesus did not come from a human father, His blood was pure with absolutely no stain of sin which we are born with. I am not completely sure if you believe Jesus was able to sin or not? It sounds like you believe He could have given in to temptation and sinned, but I could be misunderstanding you. If so, please forgive me. However, I do not believe that Jesus purposely avoided sin so He could go to the cross as a perfect sinless sacrifice for our sins in order that we might be saved.
Matthew 5:22 - But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
In Greek, RAKA means good for nothing. It is an insult! So first you have inward anger. And then you begin to express it, and it becomes an insult, "you good for nothing!" And then you say, "thou fool," and if you say thou fool, that is slander. It's the Greek word MOREH where we get our word moron from in English. So you go from inner anger, to insult, then it comes to slander when you say you fool or more literally "you moron."
First, when you say Raca, you are in danger of the council, and that would be the supreme court of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, who's the head of all of the civil and religious affairs of the Jews. We see the word council and we may not catch that this is the Sanhedrin. The Greek text has the word SUNEDRION which is the word for Sanhedrin. The translators could have used Sanhedrin instead of council. So, the first one for anger, you come before the judge. If it is insult, then you come before the Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin. If you say, "thou fool" or "you moron," you are in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:48 - Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Here is where many disagree with what the word "perfect" means. People will say that you can become perfect just like God because it says so right here. But this is why you have to love the Greek text!
The Greek word for perfect means to function in purpose. It doesn't mean to be perfect. It means to function in purpose! Jesus is saying that we, under the influence of God's Spirit, should be functioning in purpose like Him, because that is what Jesus does. He's the representative of God's love.
I'll stop here and pick back up perhaps tomorrow, Lord willing!
Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The word persecuted, without getting sidetracked on a word study because I could go on for several posts just on this one Greek word and you guys wouldn't like me very much. DIOKO is the Greek word, and it means to chase or pursue. Our English understanding of the word "persecuted" may be different than what we get from the Greek.
When Satan persecutes us, he chases us. In Ephesians Chapter 6, Paul says, after having put on the armor, stand. Satan likes to get us on the run. He can't stop us, but he chases us. We get tired, weary, frustrated, discouraged, and we quit. We stop ourselves. He runs us ragged!
It is interesting that the word persecuted here is in the Perfect Tense. What that means in the Greek text is that the Perfect Tense expresses a present condition based upon past action. So, they have already been persecuted. Blessed are the ones who have already been persecuted. But it is not just general persecution. It is for righteousness' sake. It is for doing what is right in the eyes of God.
Matthew 5:11 - Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
The word "revile" means to insult someone. When they insult and persecute you, when they say all manner of evil. The King James says "falsely" which is not in the best manuscripts. It was added to show saying evil about you, the evil that you haven't done. They made it up!
Matthew 5:12 - Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
"Rejoice, and be glad" are the only two commands in the beatitudes. Both are Present Tense commands, which means be continually rejoicing, and continually be glad. The word "glad" in Greek, AGALLIASTHE means to celebrate. We don't catch this in our English translations.
Hello Brother Jesse. I've just gone through your four parts (thus far), & can see that your contribution will be a very useful, informative learning experience for us. I shall be noting in my Bible accordingly, if I can find space in the margins. Thank you for bringing this to us.
Just on your Matthew 1:18 reference: almost every Bible version that I could find, uses the 'birth' of Jesus in their translation. The exception being Douay Rheims, which reads, "the generation of Christ was on this wise". Even Young's Literal Translation (which can be included in the group of better translations), refers to the Birth of Christ. I find it interesting, if not worrying, why translators found it more expedient to opt for 'birth'. In attempting high accuracy in their work, I would have thought that this deviation from the Greek would raise red flags for them. GBU.
Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
MAKARIOS is the word that's translated blessed in our English bibles. In Greek, MAKARIOS means to experience the fullness of something. Many Bible translations and commentaries will tell you that it means "Oh how happy," and that the Lord is presenting how to have a happy life.
But technically from the original language and its presentation, what the Lord is saying here is how the disciples of the kingdom of God will experience all the fullness of who God is by these principles.
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
This Greek word for meek (PRAOUS), means to be open, or to be receptive. Some commentaries say that it means humble or to be a nice guy. But that's not what it means, and we don't get the meaning from our English translations.
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
The word filled is not the normal word for fill. KORTAHSTHAYSONTAI is the Greek word, and it means to be satisfied.
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
The Greek word for peacemakers, which is the only place in the bible where it is found, is a special word. It has nothing to do with going out and making peace on the earth. Paul made reference to this in Ephesians 6:15, where he said one of the pieces of armor is to "have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
Peacemakers are Christians that go out with the gospel and say, "You can make peace with God through Jesus Christ." Later, Jesus says, "Don't think that I came to bring peace upon the earth." So, what He is telling us is that it is not earthly. It's coming to tell people that you are fighting against God. Romans 5:1 tells us that "after having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" Peacemakers!
Matthew 4:3 - And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Satan starts off by saying, "If" thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But there is a huge difference between saying "if" or saying "since." It would be like saying "if you are available Thursday night for a bible study," or saying, "since you are available for a bible study." Big difference!
I'll share with you a little technical information. The word "if" in the Greek text is what is called the first-class condition assumed to be true. It can and should be translated "since." Please take note that the devil, in tempting Jesus, was not tempting Him to prove that He was the Son of God. Satan is saying since you are the Son of God, then do this. Misuse your authority. Misuse your position. Be disobedient to your heavenly Father. But please take note that Satan is not asking Jesus to prove Himself to be the Son of God, but actually questioning Him, baiting Him to disobey the commandments of God.
Matthew 4:21 - And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
Now I want to share something interesting about the word mending. The word mending is the Greek word KATARTIDZO, and that is what this word means. It means "to mend." It is actually a medical term that means the mending of broken bones or the mending of the net. KATARTIDZO is the same word used by Paul in Ephesians Chapter 2 when he talked about the equipping of the saints, KATARTIDZO. Equipping does not mean that someone trains you how to go out and share the gospel. That is not what it means.
God's ministry is to mend us. His ministry is to mend the saints so that they will be functional members in the body of Christ. That is basically what this Paul is talking about, KATARTIDZO, the mending of the saints.
Thank you, I agree, it takes all four gospels, plus the entire Bible and the Holy Spirit. For every event that they were inspired to write about, we must let the Holy Spirit guide us through all four gospels to see the truth. The first Adam did not begin with a sinful nature, but he was not obedient to God, Adam sinned, and this sinful nature of disobedience we have was passed down from the first Adam to all humans born after Adam and Eve.
Jesus was born without this sinful nature same as the first Adam because Jesus was conceived in Mary of the Holy Ghost, not man, the Son of God. Jesus was a man as the first Adam that many disagree, Jesus was the second man and the last Adam, the first Adam was disobedient, but the last Adam/Jesus was obedient in every way to the will of the Father.
Matthew 2:7 - Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
In Verse 7, Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men or magi, he determined from them what time the star appeared. It is literally "What time of the appearing star." You might think it's being too technical to be literal, but that's literally how the Greek text reads. It was the appearing and the disappearing star. It is a word that describes what kind of star it was. So literally, in the Greek text, he says "What time of the appearing star?" They had seen this appearing star. It was the description of what kind of star it was.
Matthew 2:23 - And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Now if you have the time to do a study on this, and you're checking out your bible references, you will come to a conclusion, after much frustration and research, that there's no place in the bible where it says, "And He shall be called a Nazarene," yet it's in quotes right before us in this verse.
There are several instances in which He is called a shoot, a rod of Jesse, etc. It is interesting that the Greek word NAZAR for Nazarene means a root or a shoot, which is a play on the Hebrew word NATZAR which means the same thing. This is not a quotation of the city that He would live in, but who He would be. He would be a root and shoot of Jesse who would live in the city that would symbolize who He is. Nowhere in the bible does it prophecy that He is going to be a Nazarene or live in Nazareth, so no prophecy was fulfilled in this verse. But it does say that He is going to be a NATZAR, a root or a shoot of Jesse, which is what the word Nazarene means.
What Matthew is presenting fits perfectly to what John said in John 1:14 that "The word became flesh and dwelt among us." You see, Jesus was not born. He became flesh. He has always been in existence. This is why Matthew avoids using the word for birth. He's presenting to us the origin of the Christ.
It also says that "before they came together," which is a Greek word that means before their marriage was consummated.
Matthew 1:20 - But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Verse 20, from a literal Greek translation says, "After thinking on these things." And the English text is really pretty sad here because most English translations say, "While he was thinking on these things." But it's not that way in the original Greek text. It is an Aorist Participle, which tells us that this was after he thought on these things, after he made the decision about what he was going to do.
Matthew 2:1 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, During the days of Herod's reign,
It says "Behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. Our English text says, "wise men," but the literal Greek word is the word MAGOI for wise men. It's where we get our English word magic and magician from. They were sorcerers. This could have been translated as "there came magicians (or sorcerers) from the east to Jerusalem." In the English, the words "wise men" sounds like these were just some smart dudes! We think of wise men, and we might think of the three men in our manger scenes, even though that's not even accurate. There were many more than three because they always travelled in large groups.
Hello Momsage, and all else who might read these things I am sharing,
Beginning with Matthew, I am sharing some comparisons between what the Greek text says and what we read in our English translations, things that either enhance the meaning of what our English text is saying or changes the meaning all together. Other things I'll share may be things you already know, things that are not necessarily Greek to English comparisons, but just general information on things I find interesting.
Again, this is something I agreed to share with Momsage, but I am sharing with in the hope that others might find some of this helpful in your own studies. Please know that this is from my own personal studies with no intent to sway anyone from their own understanding of whatever English translation you may be studying from. As I move forward with this, all future posts will not be addressed to any specific person. I will simply title these posts "Biblical Greek Perspectives."
So, to begin with Matthew, (Part 1):
Matthew 1:18 - Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Notice it says, now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, or more literally "in this way," because Matthew is explaining that little presentation in Verse 16 "from whom" or "of whom." The word "birth" in this verse is the Greek word GENESIS which means origin. The origin (not the birth) of Jesus Christ was in this way. Matthew is not calling it a birth. He is calling it an origin.
The word "generation" in Verse 1 is also the same Greek word GENESIS. It is not the word for birth. Matthew is purposely avoiding the word for birth. What Matthew is saying here is that this is the scroll of the origin of the Christ.
I will share why this is important in the next part.
Thanks brother for confirming that. It's always better to get the instruction from those who know the language, rather than simply from reference material, which, in this case, can source their information from sometimes dubious texts. Blessings.
Dear Brother , yes I agree with you on this . To me , it pays to read all four of the Gospels very carefully .
In Luke chapter 4 verses 1-13 we see the devil tempting Jesus , what would be the point of this exercise and the writing down of it and it's preservation for us , if Jesus was incapable of sinning ? Didn't the the devil know wether or not Jesus could have been tempted into sinning ? Verse 13 is very telling to me , it ends with the words : for a season . Christ was constantly tempted throughout his ministry .
If we believe that Jesus wanted everyone to believe in him , and that he has power to lay down his life and take it up again ( power that Jesus himself says was given to him by God ) , what about Matthew chapter 27 verses 39 through to 42 . If we read verse 42 very carefully we see that the chief priests are saying : come down from that cross and we will all believe that you are who you say you are ! What a sight that would have been ! That would have shut them up wouldn't it ? ! There is Jesus , in physical and emotion agony , full of the power of God , able to do anything that he wants to do . Would he not have been tempted to display such awesome power as to save himself from this agony and instantly convert potentially hundreds and hundreds of people by doing the most amazing thing ? Come down from the cross and we will believe him !
Go back to Matthew chapter 26 verses 36-44 . Jesus submits himself , his own desires his own fears , totally to the will of God . And it's this submission that gets him through the torture of the crucifixion . He knows that it's what God wants him to do . God is not forcing him to do it . He could , come down from the cross , and we will believe him . He subjugates himself , even though he didn't have to , he chooses to allow himself to go through the agony of crucifixion when he didn't have to , he could have given in to the temptation to take the easier path . This is why what he accomplished is so stunning to me
Hi Daaaviddd0921: Sorry my reply is a little late. In verse Romans 9:16 (KJV)
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. S
He is simply saying mankind cannot will or make progress ( runneth: (trekh'-o Strong's/Bible Hub) to gain heaven. It is only through God's mercy for those who ask for it. you didn't answer my question: what happens to those who are not of the elect, those not chosen by God to be saved? It seems to me God is just disposing of them.
Ephesians 1:3-7 Is addressed to the to the church in Ephesus (us) and the Church of God was predestined to be established during Christ's ministry on earth NOT individuals.
Ephesians 2:1-10 is telling simply telling us that it is the grace and mercy of God through Jesus' death and resurrection the we can be born again.
Please show me through the actually wording of these verses how they interpret different then what I have shown. God Bless:)
You are right, the word "even" doesn't appear in the grk text. As you said it was probably used to emphasize Jesus' person.
The grk says:
Acts 9:17,"...the Lord sent me, Jesus, who appeared to you on the way that you were coming..."
1 Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who releases of us from the coming wrath."
Hebrews 6:20, " Where forerunner for us Jesus entered, becoming high priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedec".
1 John 5:6, "He is who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ; not in water only, but in water and blood. And the Spirit is that bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth."
The text I am using is the majority text which is almost the same as the received text.
"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
Blasphemy against the Spirit was not a single instance that can be levelled against the nation. In the Parable of the Wicked Tenants Jesus sums up"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."(Matt.21:43) As a nation they were unfit so Isaiah says, " Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint."(Is.1:5). While Moses went up the mount to receive the Decalogue the Israelites were already buy making a golden calf. What spirit was animating them? They were not of God. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."( John 8:44)
Decalogue therefore was a set of commandments distinct from Gospel of salvation signified by the Command Number 10.
We shall see the difference in the vision of the Woman clothed with the Sun. "And upon her head a crown of twelve stars." This tag signifies the everlasting covenant and the nation of Israel shall not enter therein as the Parable signified.
"And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." (Re.12:3). The dragon signifying spiritual wickedness in high places is under condemnation. Therefore the ten horns refer to the Decalogue and he shall be cast into the lake of fire before the day of Regeneration commence. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."(Re.20:10)
Israel as a nation of the Law have no place in the holy city of God.
I am looking forward to your post on Matthew showing the Greek perspective, I agree with S Spencer, you and Giannis are a blessing to us when it comes to Greek.
"But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."
From the passage given above it is clear that Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. ( 1 John 3:8) A "house divided against itself shall not stand."The Advent of the Son of man was to bind the strongman and spoil his house which is what we see in the chapters 19 and 20 of the last book. The Spirit gives us a concrete imagery of 'all the fowls'( The angel "saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God" are spiritually understood for clearing up the spoils gathered by Satan and his cohorts.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."(Ep.6:12) Saints following the Word of God are fighting in the mid-air (Re.19:13-14) Who is not gathering with Christ Jesus are gathering with Satan.
This leads to the verse on blasphemy repeated twice in vv.31-32."but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."(v.32) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in this world slanders the world to come which is the day of Regeneration in which His everlasting dominion is Satan-proof. The strong man referred in the key text is the spiritual darkness working through the sons of perdition.
The Spirit of God where two kingdoms of God and his dear Son tagged as two, is one. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" If the salt has lost its savour what good is it? It is for this reason Jesus Christ manifested and his Gospel is everlasting gospel. This day of Salvation is tagged by 12 while the day of Regeneration is noted by Command number Seven. These aspects of Alpha Omega attributed to the Son work with the Spirit of God.
"And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."
"Bread wine and oil" are triadic motives that God has provided man as blessing which have spiritual significance as well."That whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?"(Matt.15:17) This bread is what Satan intended but Jesus put in the right context. "But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matt.4:4) Partaking Christ is to fortify man living in heavenly places. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven./For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."( John 6:32-33).
Here we have the significance of the multiplying loaves of bread. John 6:9-13 "When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost./ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." This broken loaves were meant as a testimony to his Father. Ministry of Reconciliation included heaven and earth. In the bread broken symbolically pointed to his death on the cross. The angels serving as the cloud of witnesses were to be reconciled to him. " And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."(Col.1:20)
What made the single measurement man angel as one is the Word which was God. It is thus the Spirit has set the symbols, parables as part of the Word become flesh as the Mediator. After our likeness must prove perfect in all these triadic motives. Bread of heaven sets angels and man on the same standard as the body of Christ. (Col.1:21-22)
What is Jesus's victory if not the victory over sin ? Sin which is the powder of death , or rather sin which causes physical death ? The wages of sin is death as we know . Christ did not earn those wages . If it was impossible for him to do so then where is his victory ? He has won nothing he has accomplished nothing he didn't submit he didn't have any choice in the matter he didn't have to make any effort .
In the garden if Gethsemane his humanity is very evident . He is afraid . Afraid of the physical mental emotional and spiritual pain and humiliation . He asks that the cup might pass from him , that the crucifixion might not have to happen . Isn't there another way Father ? God says no , there is no other way , I want you to do it this way . Jesus submits but right up to the last second he is tempted . Come down and we will believe you ! He could have done that ! His human nature that was in agony , would want to do that . He resisted temptation because he knew that it was God's will and plan for him to do it this way , he is he lamb slain from the foundation of the world ! He had to do it willingly , he had to submit which means he had the choice not to submit . He learned obedience , those two words are so important , learned obedience . Dear Brother , your last sentence that explains what you don't believe , that's exactly what I do believe . With respect , we shall have to differ .
Jesus knew beforehand who are they as he knew Judas what he would do. But as the Word become flesh his Spirit to give a chance to redeem himself. "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?/He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him."( John 6:70-71). We have an example what good it did to those disciples stayed the course learning from the Master. "His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb." ( John 16:29)
" Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."( 1 John 3:2).
So the Spirit present parables as in the case of Blasphemy( of which we discussed in an earlier post from the Father Son relationship of God- Matt.12:31-32) to indicate the kingdom of the Son and kingdom of God. We shall see the Son as he is since we have the same glorious body and our soul establishes His mind working through the body. He is the Head and we belong to one body, the church. What made it all possible? Gospel of God is tagged as 12. When he presented the gospel it was gospel of Christ but the tag remains same. Even where Judas lost his place among the twelve it was necessary to keep the number as same.
In the upper room disciples gathered as commanded, "the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,"(Ac.1:15)
"And the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."(Ac.1:26)
The Gospel is everlasting gospel is the same so tag 12 shall be basis by which the holy city is measured (12x1000). The single measure man-angel makes Paul, Peter and Matthias of whose ministry we know nothing are interchangeable. We have a clue. "And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating"(Ex.16:18)
"Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable./And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?"
Parables are meant to separate those who are born of the flesh from those who are born of the Spirit. Jesus asking his disciples as mentioned in the key text reveals his disciples were of the same league as that of Nicodemus. But one thing which was crucial for being born of the the Spirit was in favour of St Peter. When many disciples turned away from him Simon Peter believed. " Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life./And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."( John 6:88-69). This was before the outpouring of the Spirit and his lifeline was alone the word of God as the voice and the sign before him. This is what the Spirit means of having the seed in itself.' Israel made light of it so Jesus castigated them, as blind guides. "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up./Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (Matt.15:13-14) Here we have the Spirit giving a reason why Jesus spoke to them in parables. "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,/This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me./But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Their heart was far from God. Tell this to the pastors who preach 'prosperity'. In our very midst we have such specimens, Pharisaical in garb of TV preachers. Heaven help us!
Jesus knew beforehand who are they as he knew Judas what he would do. But as the Word become flesh his Spirit to give a chance to redeem himself. "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?/He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him."
How does one quantify what is spiritually understood? The Spirit renders such unquantifiable with numbers that are called Command numbers. The Holy City of God is a cube, "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."(Re.21:16). The Spirit sets a tag 100 for the generation of Jesus and 1000 is the tag for end times.(End times in the day of Salvation is the beginning of the day of Regeneration so everlasting life promised to believers is continuation of now but in glory0John 3:16). Coming back to 144,000 we shall break it up as thus: 12x12x1000. This has nothing to do with Israel. In Re.7 the left out church redeems by stepping in the place of Israelites, a quality of Jesus Christ is stated here, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Seth for this reason doubles for the Son. Ze.3:15 refers to the intercessory role of Jesus Christ. However Joshua is a Hebrew variant for Jesus. This usage of the variant is significant. It is used to represent the believers tagged with 144,000 who barely escaped the great tribulation "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?/Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel." The fire refers to the great tribulation.
The two disciples going to Emmaus were like Nicodemus and also spiritually blind "And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them./But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." ( Luke 21:15-16)
If such is the case should we be surprised if the imposter churches whatever names one may call them are turning out from their assembly line such half-baked witnesses for Christ. They deny Christ's deity to mean something less and it shows up in their flock.
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?/ And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
"How can these things be?" Problem of Nicodemus was that he grew up in physical terms, His understanding was licked into a shape to get through life among his peers, without jeopardising his position. He looked up unto the hills 'whence cometh my help' and singing the song of the degrees did not make him see the mountain of God anymore than plain speech of Jesus made sense to him. For instance if being born of the Spirit I were to say, for example the statement that was made in the discussion forum "The 144,000 are male, virgin Jews, 112,000 from each tribe of Israel. Revelations 7:3-4 and 14:3-5" is wrong, no amount of debate is going to settle the matter. Where is faith called for reason must be inadequate. Faith is born of hearing, and as Paul says,"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Without it no amount of my saying otherwise shall help the other person. One is born of the Spirit so one is not only negotiating the present world but also 'the world to come.' Jesus Christ has both day of salvation and day of Regeneration, the Alpha and Omega aspect. If we gather with Christ here and now, we shall be gathering with him in his glory. So the Spirit uses tags where 12 signifies the gospel of God. St Paul's prayer, "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;/ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."(Ep.3:18-19).How does one quantify what is spiritually understood? The Spirit renders such unquantifiable with numbers that are called Command numbers. The Holy City of God is a cube, "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth:
Which of these TWO Beasts is the main Beast?
1- John saw a MAN Beast rise up out of the sea(Gentile Beast), having 7 heads and 10 horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his (7) heads the name of blasphemy. WHO IS THIS BEAST FROM THE SEA? Is he the main Beast for you?
2- John saw another MAN Beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb(a false lamb, of course), and he spake as a Dragon. WHO IS THIS BEAST FROM THE EARTH? Is he the main Beast for you?
Which of these TWO Beasts cited above is the main Beast for you?
We are interpreting the book of Revelation- chapter 13
1 - Which are the 7 heads of the devilish Beast from the sea, and what they represent?
2 - Who are the 10 horns having 10 crowns which united themselves to the Beast of the sea?
3 - What is the name of blasphemy upon the 7 heads of the Beast of the sea?
4 - Who is the another Beast like a LAMB that was seen by John, who came up out of the earth?-a dry land-
5 - Why does this another Beast have 2 horns, what they represent?
The Word of God says: The FIRST religious and blasphemer MAN Beast, the Beast from the sea- Revelation 13:1-10, will rule the Antichrist's Empire for 42 month. For now, the FIRST religious and blasphemer MAN Beast has not Power to establish the Antichrist's Empire ALONE, therefore, this MAN will sit as a ruler of the Antichrist's Empire only and only after the manifestation of the Beast of the earth- Revelation 13:11-18,and both will make a deal to establish an Empire,a religious Antichrist's Empire.
Then there will be TWO Beasts operating/working on the Earth.
After the end of the 42-month rule of the first Beast,who will assume the throne of the Empire of Antichrist for another 1,290 days is the Bleak Abomination through the Beast that has risen from the earth,the Beast as a lamb,but this man speaks as a Dragon.In fact,this Beast as a lamb is a false lamb, a false messiah, an IMPOSTOR.
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Moshiach 101-The Identity of Moshiach
Who Is Moshiach(the Jewish Messiah)?
The Messianic Redemption will be ushered in by a person,a human leader, a descendant of Kings David and Solomon,who will reinstate the Davidic royal dynasty.According to tradition,Moshiach will be wiser than Solomon,and a PROPHET around the level of Moses.
Ever since the destruction of the Holy Temple,in every generation there is an individual,a scion of the House of David, who has the potential to be the Moshiach. If at any moment the Jews are worthy of redemption,this person would be directed from Above to assume the role of the redeemer.
In every generation there is a scion of the House of David who has the potential to be the Moshiach During the Messianic Era, the Moshiach will serve a dual role. He will be a MONARCH, ruling OVER ALL of HUMANITY with kindness and justice, and upholding the Law of the Torah-613 commandments for the Jews, and 7 for the non-Jews.He will also be the ultimate teacher, the conduit for the deepest and most profound dimensions of the Torah which will then be revealed by Gd.
How are we to identify the Moshiach?
Moshiach is not identified by his ability to perform earth-shattering miracles.In fact,he isn't required to perform any miracles at all(although the performance of miracles doesn't disqualify him either)
The following are the criteria for identifying the Moshiach,as written by Maimonides:
If we see a Jewish leader who(a)toils in the study of Torah and is meticulous about the observance of the mitzvot,(b)influences the Jews to follow the ways of the Torah and(c)wages the "battles of Gd"-such a person is the"presumptive Moshiach."
If the person succeeded in all these endeavors,and then rebuilds the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and facilitates the ingathering of the Jews to the Land of Israel-then we are certain that he is the Moshiach.
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Once again, I found humor in your post, at least with how your spell checker keeps sabotaging you. Darn spell checkers! Being prior military, your spell checker put in a word (Commandant) that gave me a visual and reminder of being in military parade formation and having "10 Commandants" in charge of the formation. There's always only one which is enough because that individual is usually an intimidating high-ranking figure. I can't imagine 10 of them! Just a visual. I know what you meant!
I do have to ask you though; I have seen you mention a book of Revelations on several occasions. Does your Bible have a book of Revelations? Or is it just Revelation? I understand it to be titled Revelation, singular, being the Revelation of Jesus Christ. I hope I am not being too critical. I don't mean to be. If you think I am, please tell me so!
May the Lord continue to bless you and may your hunger for His word never be quenched!
I was not ignoring you. I do agree that Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and that He was (and is) a Lamb without spot, or spotless. Jesus was tempted by Satan, but He did not give in to the temptation because it is impossible for Him to give in to Satan's temptations and commit sin. At no time did Jesus ever have a sin nature. Since Jesus did not come from a human father, His blood was pure with absolutely no stain of sin which we are born with. I am not completely sure if you believe Jesus was able to sin or not? It sounds like you believe He could have given in to temptation and sinned, but I could be misunderstanding you. If so, please forgive me. However, I do not believe that Jesus purposely avoided sin so He could go to the cross as a perfect sinless sacrifice for our sins in order that we might be saved.
May the Lord bless you also!
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement!
Matthew 5:22 - But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
In Greek, RAKA means good for nothing. It is an insult! So first you have inward anger. And then you begin to express it, and it becomes an insult, "you good for nothing!" And then you say, "thou fool," and if you say thou fool, that is slander. It's the Greek word MOREH where we get our word moron from in English. So you go from inner anger, to insult, then it comes to slander when you say you fool or more literally "you moron."
First, when you say Raca, you are in danger of the council, and that would be the supreme court of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, who's the head of all of the civil and religious affairs of the Jews. We see the word council and we may not catch that this is the Sanhedrin. The Greek text has the word SUNEDRION which is the word for Sanhedrin. The translators could have used Sanhedrin instead of council. So, the first one for anger, you come before the judge. If it is insult, then you come before the Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin. If you say, "thou fool" or "you moron," you are in danger of hell fire.
Matthew 5:48 - Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Here is where many disagree with what the word "perfect" means. People will say that you can become perfect just like God because it says so right here. But this is why you have to love the Greek text!
The Greek word for perfect means to function in purpose. It doesn't mean to be perfect. It means to function in purpose! Jesus is saying that we, under the influence of God's Spirit, should be functioning in purpose like Him, because that is what Jesus does. He's the representative of God's love.
I'll stop here and pick back up perhaps tomorrow, Lord willing!
Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The word persecuted, without getting sidetracked on a word study because I could go on for several posts just on this one Greek word and you guys wouldn't like me very much. DIOKO is the Greek word, and it means to chase or pursue. Our English understanding of the word "persecuted" may be different than what we get from the Greek.
When Satan persecutes us, he chases us. In Ephesians Chapter 6, Paul says, after having put on the armor, stand. Satan likes to get us on the run. He can't stop us, but he chases us. We get tired, weary, frustrated, discouraged, and we quit. We stop ourselves. He runs us ragged!
It is interesting that the word persecuted here is in the Perfect Tense. What that means in the Greek text is that the Perfect Tense expresses a present condition based upon past action. So, they have already been persecuted. Blessed are the ones who have already been persecuted. But it is not just general persecution. It is for righteousness' sake. It is for doing what is right in the eyes of God.
Matthew 5:11 - Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
The word "revile" means to insult someone. When they insult and persecute you, when they say all manner of evil. The King James says "falsely" which is not in the best manuscripts. It was added to show saying evil about you, the evil that you haven't done. They made it up!
Matthew 5:12 - Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
"Rejoice, and be glad" are the only two commands in the beatitudes. Both are Present Tense commands, which means be continually rejoicing, and continually be glad. The word "glad" in Greek, AGALLIASTHE means to celebrate. We don't catch this in our English translations.
Just on your Matthew 1:18 reference: almost every Bible version that I could find, uses the 'birth' of Jesus in their translation. The exception being Douay Rheims, which reads, "the generation of Christ was on this wise". Even Young's Literal Translation (which can be included in the group of better translations), refers to the Birth of Christ. I find it interesting, if not worrying, why translators found it more expedient to opt for 'birth'. In attempting high accuracy in their work, I would have thought that this deviation from the Greek would raise red flags for them. GBU.
Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
MAKARIOS is the word that's translated blessed in our English bibles. In Greek, MAKARIOS means to experience the fullness of something. Many Bible translations and commentaries will tell you that it means "Oh how happy," and that the Lord is presenting how to have a happy life.
But technically from the original language and its presentation, what the Lord is saying here is how the disciples of the kingdom of God will experience all the fullness of who God is by these principles.
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
This Greek word for meek (PRAOUS), means to be open, or to be receptive. Some commentaries say that it means humble or to be a nice guy. But that's not what it means, and we don't get the meaning from our English translations.
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
The word filled is not the normal word for fill. KORTAHSTHAYSONTAI is the Greek word, and it means to be satisfied.
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
The Greek word for peacemakers, which is the only place in the bible where it is found, is a special word. It has nothing to do with going out and making peace on the earth. Paul made reference to this in Ephesians 6:15, where he said one of the pieces of armor is to "have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
Peacemakers are Christians that go out with the gospel and say, "You can make peace with God through Jesus Christ." Later, Jesus says, "Don't think that I came to bring peace upon the earth." So, what He is telling us is that it is not earthly. It's coming to tell people that you are fighting against God. Romans 5:1 tells us that "after having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" Peacemakers!
Matthew 4:3 - And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Satan starts off by saying, "If" thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But there is a huge difference between saying "if" or saying "since." It would be like saying "if you are available Thursday night for a bible study," or saying, "since you are available for a bible study." Big difference!
I'll share with you a little technical information. The word "if" in the Greek text is what is called the first-class condition assumed to be true. It can and should be translated "since." Please take note that the devil, in tempting Jesus, was not tempting Him to prove that He was the Son of God. Satan is saying since you are the Son of God, then do this. Misuse your authority. Misuse your position. Be disobedient to your heavenly Father. But please take note that Satan is not asking Jesus to prove Himself to be the Son of God, but actually questioning Him, baiting Him to disobey the commandments of God.
Matthew 4:21 - And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
Now I want to share something interesting about the word mending. The word mending is the Greek word KATARTIDZO, and that is what this word means. It means "to mend." It is actually a medical term that means the mending of broken bones or the mending of the net. KATARTIDZO is the same word used by Paul in Ephesians Chapter 2 when he talked about the equipping of the saints, KATARTIDZO. Equipping does not mean that someone trains you how to go out and share the gospel. That is not what it means.
God's ministry is to mend us. His ministry is to mend the saints so that they will be functional members in the body of Christ. That is basically what this Paul is talking about, KATARTIDZO, the mending of the saints.
Thank you, I agree, it takes all four gospels, plus the entire Bible and the Holy Spirit. For every event that they were inspired to write about, we must let the Holy Spirit guide us through all four gospels to see the truth. The first Adam did not begin with a sinful nature, but he was not obedient to God, Adam sinned, and this sinful nature of disobedience we have was passed down from the first Adam to all humans born after Adam and Eve.
Jesus was born without this sinful nature same as the first Adam because Jesus was conceived in Mary of the Holy Ghost, not man, the Son of God. Jesus was a man as the first Adam that many disagree, Jesus was the second man and the last Adam, the first Adam was disobedient, but the last Adam/Jesus was obedient in every way to the will of the Father.
God bless,
RLW
Matthew 2:7 - Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
In Verse 7, Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men or magi, he determined from them what time the star appeared. It is literally "What time of the appearing star." You might think it's being too technical to be literal, but that's literally how the Greek text reads. It was the appearing and the disappearing star. It is a word that describes what kind of star it was. So literally, in the Greek text, he says "What time of the appearing star?" They had seen this appearing star. It was the description of what kind of star it was.
Matthew 2:23 - And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Now if you have the time to do a study on this, and you're checking out your bible references, you will come to a conclusion, after much frustration and research, that there's no place in the bible where it says, "And He shall be called a Nazarene," yet it's in quotes right before us in this verse.
There are several instances in which He is called a shoot, a rod of Jesse, etc. It is interesting that the Greek word NAZAR for Nazarene means a root or a shoot, which is a play on the Hebrew word NATZAR which means the same thing. This is not a quotation of the city that He would live in, but who He would be. He would be a root and shoot of Jesse who would live in the city that would symbolize who He is. Nowhere in the bible does it prophecy that He is going to be a Nazarene or live in Nazareth, so no prophecy was fulfilled in this verse. But it does say that He is going to be a NATZAR, a root or a shoot of Jesse, which is what the word Nazarene means.
What Matthew is presenting fits perfectly to what John said in John 1:14 that "The word became flesh and dwelt among us." You see, Jesus was not born. He became flesh. He has always been in existence. This is why Matthew avoids using the word for birth. He's presenting to us the origin of the Christ.
It also says that "before they came together," which is a Greek word that means before their marriage was consummated.
Matthew 1:20 - But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Verse 20, from a literal Greek translation says, "After thinking on these things." And the English text is really pretty sad here because most English translations say, "While he was thinking on these things." But it's not that way in the original Greek text. It is an Aorist Participle, which tells us that this was after he thought on these things, after he made the decision about what he was going to do.
Matthew 2:1 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, During the days of Herod's reign,
It says "Behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. Our English text says, "wise men," but the literal Greek word is the word MAGOI for wise men. It's where we get our English word magic and magician from. They were sorcerers. This could have been translated as "there came magicians (or sorcerers) from the east to Jerusalem." In the English, the words "wise men" sounds like these were just some smart dudes! We think of wise men, and we might think of the three men in our manger scenes, even though that's not even accurate. There were many more than three because they always travelled in large groups.
Beginning with Matthew, I am sharing some comparisons between what the Greek text says and what we read in our English translations, things that either enhance the meaning of what our English text is saying or changes the meaning all together. Other things I'll share may be things you already know, things that are not necessarily Greek to English comparisons, but just general information on things I find interesting.
Again, this is something I agreed to share with Momsage, but I am sharing with in the hope that others might find some of this helpful in your own studies. Please know that this is from my own personal studies with no intent to sway anyone from their own understanding of whatever English translation you may be studying from. As I move forward with this, all future posts will not be addressed to any specific person. I will simply title these posts "Biblical Greek Perspectives."
So, to begin with Matthew, (Part 1):
Matthew 1:18 - Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Notice it says, now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, or more literally "in this way," because Matthew is explaining that little presentation in Verse 16 "from whom" or "of whom." The word "birth" in this verse is the Greek word GENESIS which means origin. The origin (not the birth) of Jesus Christ was in this way. Matthew is not calling it a birth. He is calling it an origin.
The word "generation" in Verse 1 is also the same Greek word GENESIS. It is not the word for birth. Matthew is purposely avoiding the word for birth. What Matthew is saying here is that this is the scroll of the origin of the Christ.
I will share why this is important in the next part.
In Luke chapter 4 verses 1-13 we see the devil tempting Jesus , what would be the point of this exercise and the writing down of it and it's preservation for us , if Jesus was incapable of sinning ? Didn't the the devil know wether or not Jesus could have been tempted into sinning ? Verse 13 is very telling to me , it ends with the words : for a season . Christ was constantly tempted throughout his ministry .
If we believe that Jesus wanted everyone to believe in him , and that he has power to lay down his life and take it up again ( power that Jesus himself says was given to him by God ) , what about Matthew chapter 27 verses 39 through to 42 . If we read verse 42 very carefully we see that the chief priests are saying : come down from that cross and we will all believe that you are who you say you are ! What a sight that would have been ! That would have shut them up wouldn't it ? ! There is Jesus , in physical and emotion agony , full of the power of God , able to do anything that he wants to do . Would he not have been tempted to display such awesome power as to save himself from this agony and instantly convert potentially hundreds and hundreds of people by doing the most amazing thing ? Come down from the cross and we will believe him !
Go back to Matthew chapter 26 verses 36-44 . Jesus submits himself , his own desires his own fears , totally to the will of God . And it's this submission that gets him through the torture of the crucifixion . He knows that it's what God wants him to do . God is not forcing him to do it . He could , come down from the cross , and we will believe him . He subjugates himself , even though he didn't have to , he chooses to allow himself to go through the agony of crucifixion when he didn't have to , he could have given in to the temptation to take the easier path . This is why what he accomplished is so stunning to me
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. S
He is simply saying mankind cannot will or make progress ( runneth: (trekh'-o Strong's/Bible Hub) to gain heaven. It is only through God's mercy for those who ask for it. you didn't answer my question: what happens to those who are not of the elect, those not chosen by God to be saved? It seems to me God is just disposing of them.
Ephesians 1:3-7 Is addressed to the to the church in Ephesus (us) and the Church of God was predestined to be established during Christ's ministry on earth NOT individuals.
Ephesians 2:1-10 is telling simply telling us that it is the grace and mercy of God through Jesus' death and resurrection the we can be born again.
Please show me through the actually wording of these verses how they interpret different then what I have shown. God Bless:)
You are right, the word "even" doesn't appear in the grk text. As you said it was probably used to emphasize Jesus' person.
The grk says:
Acts 9:17,"...the Lord sent me, Jesus, who appeared to you on the way that you were coming..."
1 Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who releases of us from the coming wrath."
Hebrews 6:20, " Where forerunner for us Jesus entered, becoming high priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedec".
1 John 5:6, "He is who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ; not in water only, but in water and blood. And the Spirit is that bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth."
The text I am using is the majority text which is almost the same as the received text.
I prayed for your daughters and grands last night.
"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
Blasphemy against the Spirit was not a single instance that can be levelled against the nation. In the Parable of the Wicked Tenants Jesus sums up"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."(Matt.21:43) As a nation they were unfit so Isaiah says, " Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint."(Is.1:5). While Moses went up the mount to receive the Decalogue the Israelites were already buy making a golden calf. What spirit was animating them? They were not of God. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."( John 8:44)
Decalogue therefore was a set of commandments distinct from Gospel of salvation signified by the Command Number 10.
We shall see the difference in the vision of the Woman clothed with the Sun. "And upon her head a crown of twelve stars." This tag signifies the everlasting covenant and the nation of Israel shall not enter therein as the Parable signified.
"And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." (Re.12:3). The dragon signifying spiritual wickedness in high places is under condemnation. Therefore the ten horns refer to the Decalogue and he shall be cast into the lake of fire before the day of Regeneration commence. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."(Re.20:10)
Israel as a nation of the Law have no place in the holy city of God.
I am looking forward to your post on Matthew showing the Greek perspective, I agree with S Spencer, you and Giannis are a blessing to us when it comes to Greek.
God bless,
RLW
You and Giannis have been a blessing in showing us what scripture says in the Greek and how it can make a huge difference.
The Greek is such a direct language, I heard it is to be understood intertextuality, therefore it was written to be read out loud.
Thanks again and God bless.
"But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you."
From the passage given above it is clear that Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. ( 1 John 3:8) A "house divided against itself shall not stand."The Advent of the Son of man was to bind the strongman and spoil his house which is what we see in the chapters 19 and 20 of the last book. The Spirit gives us a concrete imagery of 'all the fowls'( The angel "saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God" are spiritually understood for clearing up the spoils gathered by Satan and his cohorts.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."(Ep.6:12) Saints following the Word of God are fighting in the mid-air (Re.19:13-14) Who is not gathering with Christ Jesus are gathering with Satan.
This leads to the verse on blasphemy repeated twice in vv.31-32."but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."(v.32) Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in this world slanders the world to come which is the day of Regeneration in which His everlasting dominion is Satan-proof. The strong man referred in the key text is the spiritual darkness working through the sons of perdition.
The Spirit of God where two kingdoms of God and his dear Son tagged as two, is one. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" If the salt has lost its savour what good is it? It is for this reason Jesus Christ manifested and his Gospel is everlasting gospel. This day of Salvation is tagged by 12 while the day of Regeneration is noted by Command number Seven. These aspects of Alpha Omega attributed to the Son work with the Spirit of God.
"And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."
"Bread wine and oil" are triadic motives that God has provided man as blessing which have spiritual significance as well."That whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?"(Matt.15:17) This bread is what Satan intended but Jesus put in the right context. "But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matt.4:4) Partaking Christ is to fortify man living in heavenly places. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven./For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world."( John 6:32-33).
Here we have the significance of the multiplying loaves of bread. John 6:9-13 "When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost./ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." This broken loaves were meant as a testimony to his Father. Ministry of Reconciliation included heaven and earth. In the bread broken symbolically pointed to his death on the cross. The angels serving as the cloud of witnesses were to be reconciled to him. " And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."(Col.1:20)
What made the single measurement man angel as one is the Word which was God. It is thus the Spirit has set the symbols, parables as part of the Word become flesh as the Mediator. After our likeness must prove perfect in all these triadic motives. Bread of heaven sets angels and man on the same standard as the body of Christ. (Col.1:21-22)